The safety room will look much different for Liberty in 2023. Quinton Reese steps into more of a leadership role while incoming transfer Brandon Bishop should provide help this coming season. Brylan Green and A’Khori Jones, talented true freshmen who saw plenty of playing time in 2022, will also factor into the rotation here. Incoming JUCO transfer Jabin Ford, Preston Hodge, Jaylon Jimmerson and Jayden Sweeney are others to watch here, as well.
“I don’t know what they look like,” said Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell of his safeties following the February signing period. “The coaches tell me they feel better, but I might get out there and say holy moly. But it was good to get some secondary help, that was one of the areas that we had identified we needed some help there.”
As Liberty looks to replace the lost production of Javon Scruggs, Juawan Treadwell, and Rocket Rahimi at safety, returning co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Jack Curtis will first turn to Quinton Reese to help lead the position group. Last year, Reese had 29 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 interception. He has quickly turned heads of the new coaching staff.
“I’ve been very impressed with Quinton Reese on defense as far as just attitude,” Chadwell said on the first day of spring practice. “Throughout our offseason we had different conditioning days and five of those are our agility, quickness stuff. We graded our guys on those. For all five of those he was in our top group. He was the only one to do that five for five. Just the attitude that he comes with every day, he’s encouraging to his teammates, he cares about his teammates. He’s really stuck out defensively as far as just a guy that loves Liberty, loves the game of football, loves his teammates, he’s awesome.”
Bishop, a transfer from Louisiana, began his career at Alabama where he redshirted as a walk-on during the 2018 season. He then transferred to Louisiana where he totaled 63 tackles and 3 interceptions over the past several seasons. Bishop has one year of eligibility remaining. The 6’0″, 194 pound defensive back is originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Bishop appeared in 11 games as a redshirt-freshman in 2019, primarily on special teams. He would miss the 2020 season due to injury. In 2021, Bishop had 30 tackles, a tackle for loss and an interception. Last year, playing in 12 games, Bishop recorded 25 tackles and an interception. He committed to Liberty over offers from Troy, Kansas State, Arkansas State, Old Dominion, and James Madison, and he should immediately slide into the rotation at safety.
Brylan Green had a tremendous true freshman season last year for the Flames. He played in all 13 games, finishing the season with 32 tackles. The two-sport athlete is not going through spring practice as he is currently with the baseball team. Once he returns to the gridiron this summer, Green should pick up where he left off and push for a starting spot at safety in the fall.
Preston Hodge joined Liberty as JUCO transfer just ahead of the 2022 season. He was limited some during fall camp last season and spent time at both corner and safety. Once he settled in at safety, Hodge made a positive impact on the field and should be counted on to take a step forward this season. He played in 12 games for Liberty in 2022, finishing with 12 tackles.
A JUCO transfer, Jabin Ford could also add to the depth for the Flames at safety this season. The 6’0″, 178 pound Ford attended Coffeyville Community College and is originally from Macon, Georgia. As a defensive back this past season at Coffeyville, Ford played in seven games while recording 25 tackles and three interceptions. In addition to Liberty, Ford also had an offer from Old Dominion. After high school, Ford spent one season at Fork Union for post grad before heading to Coffeyville for a season.
Like Green, A’Khori Jones was a true freshman at safety for Liberty last year. He played a big role on special teams and also provided some depth at safety. He played in 11 games last fall, finishing the season with 18 tackles and three tackles for loss.
Jaylon Jimmerson transferred to Liberty from Incarnate Word two years ago. In 2022 he opted to redshirt to preserve his season of eligibility. Prior to redshirting, he was pushing to break into the two-deep at safety for the Flames, and he should be expected to do the same again in 2023.
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